Theory
Curiosity, Pleasure And Play:
A Neurodevelopmental Perspective
by Bruce D. Perry, M.D. Ph.D., Lea Hogan, M.Ed., Sarah J. Marlin, Baylor Medical Student
The human brain is an amazing organ. It mediates all of our
thoughts, feelings and behaviors. It allows us to create, share
and hope. It allows us to communicate and connect, to teach and
to leam, The brain allows us our humanity.
In order to do all of these wonderful things, our brain must or-
ganize its 100 billion individual nerve cells (neurons) into effi-
cient systems to sense, process, perceive, store and act on the
continuous bath of sensations sights, sounds, tastes, smells and
touch - in the environment, Furthermore, our brains do not just
automatically pop into existence, capable of all these wonderful
functions. The brain begins to develop in utero from just a few
cells, Within a few short years it has grown to be 85% adult-
size, The brain grows to become a dynamic ever-changing bio-
logical system which gives us the capacity to love, create, com-
municate or think. Our brain becomes a product of our genetic
potential and our history of experience.
Experiences - repetitive, consistent, predictable and nurturing
experiences - are required to express the underlying genetic
potential of each child, It is becoming increasingly clear that it
is the experiences of early childhood that play a key role in de-
termining the foundational organization and capabilites of the
brain (Schore, 1997; Perry, 1994).
‘The experiences, environments and opportunities we provide
our children help determine their strengths and vulnerabilities,
Ifthe child's world is chaotic, violent and emotionally or cogni-
tively impoverished, his potential will remain unexpressed. If
the child’s world is safe, nurturing and rich in social, emotional
and cognitive opportunities, he or she will flourish. Central to a
child’s healthy development is the opportunity to act on his,
natural curiosity — to explore, to play and, thereby, to learn.
Play, more than any other activity, fuels healthy development of
children and the continued healthy development of adults. This
isa bold statement. To judge this statement, we must consider
what play is and how the human brain develops and changes.
‘What Is Play And Why Is It Important?
Play takes many forms, but the heart ofall play is pleasure. If it
isn’t fun, it isn’t play. We play from birth on — we play using
‘our bodies (e.g., building with blocks) and our minds (e.g, fan-
tasy play). We use words to play (e.., jokes, wit, humor), and
we use props (e.g., blocks, toys, games). While the exact nature
of play evolves, becoming more complex as we grow, play at all
ages brings pleasure. And with pleasure comes the powerful
drive to repeat the pleasurable activity. And with repetition,
comes mastery. Mastery brings a sense of accomplishment and
confidence. The more comfortable a child feels with the world,
the more likely she will explore, discover, master and learn,
This cycle starts with curiosity
Curiosity, a neurobiological feature of many primates, drives
exploratory play. Play can satisfy curiosity as the child explores
her environment, thereby expanding her catalogue of experi-
cence. When the child explores, she discovers. A wonderful cy-
cle of learning is driven by the pleasure in play. A child is curi-
ous; she explores and discovers. The discovery brings pleasure;
the pleasure leads to repetition and practice. Practice brings
‘mastery; mastery brings the pleasure and confidence to once
again act on curiosity. All learning — emotional, social, motor
and cognitive ~is accelerated and facilitated by repetition fueled
by the pleasure of play.
‘Simple principles of neurodevelopment match the observations
related to play that have been made by academics, clinicians and
parents over the years. Neurodevelopment, while very complex,
has a number of core concepts and principles that can illustrate
the central, crucial role of play in healthy development.
Neurodevelopment Principle One: Sequential Development.
The brain, at birth, is undeveloped. During its development it
organizes and grows in a sequential fashion, starting from the
lowest, most regulatory regions of the brain and proceeding up
through the more complex parts of the brain responsible for
‘more complex functions, Healthy development of one region!
capability is dependent upon the healthy development of lower
brain regions that take place earlier in the process (see Figure 1).
Play during development, therefore, parallels this sequential
neurodevelopmental process. In early childhood, when the
brain is developing motor-vestibular capabilities, for example,
‘there is much more large motor play than in adolescence. Play
‘opportunities for the child must be provided in an appropriate
sequence and matched to the child’s level of neurodevelopment.
In turn, this matching process is dependent upon adequate as-
sessment of the child's development in the key areas of physi-
cal/motor, behavioral, emotional, social and cognitive domains.
(Continued on page 10)
haaeye Advocate 9 August 2000sequential Neurode
velopment Bi Play
Encourage Abstract Thought
Humor
s Language
Arts
= Games
Facilitate Socio-emotional Growth
c » Teams '
= » Winlose
wy «Tums
+ Sharing '
Figure 1: The Hierarchical Structure of the Human Brain: The human brain is organized and develops in a hierarchical fashion
‘The lowest and most simple areas develop first, followed in sequence by more complex areas that mediate more complex functions.
Play activites of children mirror this process and facilitate healthy development of the brain. Babies play at the nipple, toddlers
practice motor skills, and fantasy play encourages socio-emotional and cognitive development. As children grow, the complexity of
lay grows. Solitary, parallel, dyadic and then group play develops
in sequence with the developing social capabilities of the child.
“Ateach stage of development, it is play and the repetitive elements of play that help organize neural systems which will ultimately
mediate more complex motor, social, emotional and cognitive skills,
(Continued from page 9)
‘Neurodevelopment Principle Tw
Development, The normal organization of any brain area or
capability is ‘use-dependent.’ Neurodevelopment is dependent
upon the presence, pattern, frequency and timing experiences
during development. The more pattemed activity (e.g., music,
reading, conversation), the more the brain regions responsible
for these tasks will organize and be functionally ‘healthy’. The
implications of this are profound. Patterned repetitive activity
results in patteried neural activity that changes the brain. These
‘experiences help build in the neural capacity to better perform
those functions (ie., hearing language helps develop speech and
language capabilities; practicing piano develops fine motor and
rhythm-reading capabilities and reading increases capacity for
‘verbal comprehension and abstract reasoning). Children
exposed to consistent, predictable, nurturing and enriched
haaeyc Advocate 10 August 2000
experiences will develop neurobiological capabilites that will
inerease the child’s chance for health, happiness, productivity
and creativity. Conversely this means that the child with ne-
glect, chaotic, and terrorizing environments will have significant
problems in all domains of functioning (see Perry 1995; 1997).
Play has a crucial role in providing the repetitive experiences
that can improve and express the potentials in all areas of the
human brain, Depending upon the nature of the play, growth
and change in all parts of the brain can be facilitated. The more
‘opportunities for enriched and complex play, the more repetition
will take place. As we think about the importance of play we
ccan never underestimate the need for consistent, predictable,
ppattemed and frequent opportunities for play in a child’s life.
‘This means that the major providers of the experiences in the
child’s life - caregivers, teachers, and parents - must appreciate
the role of play and pleasure in overall learning.Conceptual Principle Three: Windows of Opportunity.
Much of this sequential and use dependent development of the
brain takes place in early childhood. This means that of all the
experiences throughout the life of an individual, the organizing
experiences of early childhood have the most powerful and en-
during effects on brain organization and functioning! Society
does not capitalize on this window of opportunity in early child-
hhood. Indeed, we typically wait until a child is so impaired and
dysfunctional, acting out and failing in school, before we initiate
services. Those few resources that are dedicated to early child-
hood tend to be inefficient and unfocused,
With play, we have an inexpensive and efficient means to help
children develop. Proactive is better than reactive. Simple
music and movement activities provided early in life for high-
risk children, for example, appear to have powerful and positive
impact on young children. We must teach young mothers and
caregivers how important itis to play with their young children
The best toy fora young child is the invested, caring adult -
someone to pay attention, to engage and to play with the child
using words, song, touch and smile.
Play And Exploration
‘They help the child's brain develop in optimal ways. Child sen-
sitive spaces, semi-structured activities and opportunities for
exploration are safe, nurturing and enriched in developmentally
appropriate stimulation and should be the core elements of all
child-focused programs. Play and exploration grow the brain -
healthy play and exploration grow healthy brains.
How Does Play Help Your Child Grow?
‘Through play, a child’s sense of who she is can become more
defined and integrated. As she learns about herself and the
world, she acquires a wide range of important developmental,
social, and cognitive skills, as well as positive inner traits, that
help form the basis for happiness, productivity and a healthy
future, Play-related skill building tracks with neurodevelopment.
As described in Figure 1, the brain organizes from the bottom to
the top.
Gross motor skills, such as walking, kicking, or skipping, can be
enhanced when a toddler pushes a toy grocery cart or an older
child jumps rope. When a young child kicks a ball across the
room, she is practicing coordination by balancing on one foot to
kick with the other. She is additionally developing larger mus-
cle control, tone and flexibility, qualities that may help her score
the winning goal when she is old enough to play soccer.
Children can develop advanced fine motor and manipulation
skills while playing as they use their fingers to build and color a
Theory
sign for a backyard tree house. When throwing and catching a
ball, they are practicing hand-eye coordination and their ability
to grasp. As they scribble with a pencil on paper, they are de-
veloping the muscle control and coordination needed to one day
write a letter to a friend.
Children have opportunities to enhance their language skills
through play by talking and singing with other children. A
child’s interactions with and repetition of his playmates help
him master the semantics of language as he participates in spon-
taneous rhyming and word play. While having fun, he increases
his play-related speech, his sentence length, and his vocabulary.
‘The child’s cognitive, or mental, abilities can also be enhanced
by play. A child’s play often involves physical and mental trial
and error, problem-solving tasks, and an ability to discriminate
‘between relevant and irrelevant information. Play requires the
child to make choices and direct activities and often involves
strategizing, or planning, to reach a goal. Through pleasurable
play, children often become motivated and perseverant, qualities
that frequently may later translate into the classroom.
While enjoying their play, children can acquire a wide range of
interpersonal/social skills, ranging from communication to co-
operation, When children argue about who stepped “out of
bounds” and agree upon a “do over,” they are leaming how to
negotiate, compromise and work together. They are learning
about teamwork when they huddle together and decide how they
will position themselves for the next shot. ‘The child gains an
understanding about those around him and may become more
‘empathetic and less egocentric, When playing with peers, chil-
dren are developing a learning system of social rules, including
ways to control themselves and tolerate their frustrations in a
social setting.
Play Develops Skills
ity
Cre
* _ Teamwork/eooperation
+ Communication/negotiation/compromise
+ Developmental skills
+ Goalsetting
* _ Following rules/directions
+ Self-reliance
+ Problem solving
> Self-expression
* _Self-confidence
haaeye Advocate 11 August 2000(Continued from page 11)
Creating A Healthy Environment
To Optimize Play And Learning
A child will play when she feels safe, And to a child, feeling,
safe has litte to do with outlet plugs and childproof cabinets. A
child’s sense of safety stems from a calm and predictable
World — one in which she knows what will happen next. This,
‘means her life is fairly consistent from one day to the next ~ and
the adults in her world are predictable, consistent and, ideally,
attentive, attuned and attached. She knows her caregiver is
there for her to feed her, protect her and comfort her. You can
make a child’s world more predictable by keeping her on a daily
schedule. For example, she wakes, eats meals and bathes
roughly at the same time every day. Significant changes to her
daily routine (for example, frequent home moves) are kept to a
‘minimum. Predictability will help eliminate the element of sur-
prise, In an unpredictable world with no routine, children may
bbe anxious. Anxiety kills curiosity. A child that feels safe and
is in familiar space will be curious and will seek novelty. A
child that is anxious or in an unfamiliar setting will be unwilling
10 try new things.
“With play, we have an inexpensive and
efficient means to help children develop.”
A child’s environment should also be rich in sights, sounds,
‘smells, tastes and touch. Environments rich in sensory experi-
‘ences stimulate the child’s brain and give him/her new informa~
tion about the world. For a child, a sensory-rich experience
could be as simple as the smell of blueberry muffins baking in
the kitchen or the touch of a velvet pillow to the face. It is im-
portant for caregivers to recognize the importance of sensory
experiences toa child. Caregivers should also recognize that
‘too much stimulation could overwhelm a child. For example,
cone toy with bells and whistles might be interesting to a child,
‘but many noise-making toys might over stimulate him/her.
Caregivers should note that television is not considered a sen-
sory-enriched experience for a child.
In today's world we often underestimate the importance of play.
We over schedule our children with educational or structured
activities that often inhibit spontaneous, curiosity-driven explo
ration. In the end, if we want to help our children meet their
potential, we must allow children to have free time, spontancous
play and safe and enriched play and learning environments.
haaeye Advocate 12 August 2000
Theory
For more information on this and related topi
Visit these web sites;
http://www. Child Trauma.org
http:/Scholastic.combruceperrry
References
Perry, B.D. (1997) Incubated in Terror: Neurodevelopmental
Factors in the ‘Cycle of Violence’ In: Children in a Violent Si
ciety (J Osofsky, Ed) The Guilford Press, New York, pp. 12:
150.
Perry, B.D., Pollard, R., Blakely, T., Baker, W., Vigilante, D.
Childhood trauma, the neurobiology of adaptation and ‘use-
dependent’ development of the brain: how “state: become
“traits”. Infant Mental Health Journal 16 (4): 271-291, 1995.
Shore, R. (1997) Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early
Development Summary from Conference: Brain Development
in Young Children: New Frontiers for Research, Policy and
Practice. Families and Work Institute, New York.
About the Authors
Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. is the Thomas S. Trammell Re-
search Professor of Child Psychiatry in the Department of Psy-
chiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Baylor College of Medi-
cine in Houston, Texas. Within the Baylor College of Medicine
clinical system, he serves as Chief of Psychiatry at Texas
Children's Hospital
Lea Hogan, M.Ed. is a clinician at the Child Trauma Academy
where she is the project director of the Early Childhood and
Neurodevelopment Curriculum Project. Ms. Hogan has exten-
sive clinical experience working with maltreated children and
has been active in the Child Trauma Music and Movement
projects.
Sarah J. Marlin graduated magna cum laude from Columbia
University, New York, NY with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology.
Currently she is a medical student at Baylor College of Medi-
cine, Houston, TX,
Editor’s Note: Dr. Perry will.be the keynote speaker at the
HAAEYC Fall 2001 Conference.